Why Email Pitches Get Deleted

Stop the investment SPAM. The main reason that founders fail with their outreach for a potential investment are overly generic messages. Every day I get messages that congratulate me on my great investments in payment technologies, battery tech or other sectors I have never invested in. I delete all those messages - those founders just need money, they do not want to have ME on the captable. They have not done their homework. Messages often lack a link to the website, a link to their linkedin and a pitchdeck. I need to filter quickly. Everything that is missing makes this process more complicated for me and increases the chance of me not continuing the process because I can not distinguish between spam and legit outreach. The outreach is often not a match for my investment criteria speaking about rounds that are too late for me or funding sums that are not relevant to me. I delete all those messages. Again: homework not done. People asking to jump on a call before providing any information apart from super generic info about the business like the purpose of the company and the addressable market - I will not jump on a call. That is like being a car dealer saying you have a great car to sell asking potential clients to come to the car dealership without any additional info. It will not work. If you want to convert outreach into opportunity do the following: First you identify angels that invest in your space of which you think they could be a valuable addition to your captable. Second you write an email/message that contains the following: - Short intro about you as the founder (include your linkedin in footer) - Short description of the business (include website in footer) - A couple of sentences around traction - Information regarding the current round (size, valuation, which milestone will be reached with the money) - Info why you reached out to the angel/ why you think she or he will be a good addition - Include link to schedule a call I am sure by doing that and sending out 10 emails/messages you will create more opportunities than sending out 1.000 untargeted messages.

I get 50+ pitches a week. I delete 49. Not because they're bad businesses. But because the founders already told me they'll fail. Here's exactly what makes me hit delete: "We have no competition"  → You haven't done research → Or you're in a market nobody wants → Either way, I'm out "Our TAM is $50 billion"  → Cool → But you’ll capture 0 if you keep thinking top-down, not bottom-up → Show me the first 100 customers, not the last million "We need funding to figure out our business model"  → No. You need customers "We're pre-revenue but..."  → There is no "but" → Charge someone. Anyone. Today. → $10 proves more than any pitch deck "Our team has 3 MBAs from top schools"  → Great. Now show me what you've built → Credentials are lag indicators → I care about velocity, not pedigree The emails I actually read? "We're doing $20K MRR. Growing 30% monthly. Here's exactly how…” Short. Specific. Most investors will tell you they invest in people. Sure. But I also invest in evidence. And 98% of pitches are just sophisticated ways of saying "trust me." I don't. Show me you can build a business with constraints. Then I'll help you remove them. ✌️

I know exactly why your PR pitch got deleted in three seconds. Because I was the one deleting it. 20 years at CBS NEWS, MTV, VH1, and CNN taught me what producers actually want. (Hint: it's not what most agencies are pitching.) Here's the truth most PR agencies won't tell you: They're guessing. They're sending pitches based on what “sounds good” in theory or what worked for a different client in a different industry three years ago. Here's what gets your pitch deleted instantly: → Generic subject lines "Story Idea" or "Media Opportunity" tells me nothing. I had 200 emails that morning. Give me a reason to care in six words or less. → Leading with credentials instead of the story: I don't care that your client has a PhD or won an award. I care whether they can speak to something my audience is already talking about. → Pitching features, not relevance: "My client would be great for your show" isn't a pitch. It's a hope. Tell me why they matter right now to the conversation we're already having. → No clear angle: If I have to work to figure out what the story is, I'm not doing it. Producers don't have time to reverse-engineer your pitch into something usable. → Sending the same pitch to every producer I can tell when you've blasted the same email to 47 shows. It shows you don't actually watch our programming or understand our audience. When you've been in the room where these decisions get made, you stop wasting time on pitches that were never going to work anyway. You focus on the angles producers actually care about. And you get results faster because you're speaking their language from day one.

I’ve received ~14,000 sales emails over the last 18 years. 98% failed in the first line. Not because the product was bad. Not because I wasn’t a potential customer. Because the effort wasn’t there. As much as procurement leaders want to respond professionally, there simply isn’t time. So most emails get judged instantly. Here’s what gets you deleted just as fast: - Misspelling the name or company (this happens a lot) - Writing a long, multi-paragraph novel - Leading with yourself instead of the prospect - Copy-pasting a generic pitch (painfully obvious) The bar isn’t high. It’s low. PAINFULLY low. Which means standing out doesn’t require brilliance… it requires effort. Even just a bit of effort. Here’s what actually puts you in the top 2%: - Go beyond surface-level personalization→ Show you understand their business, not just their title - Leverage real connections → Mutual contacts matter more than clever wording - Do 15 minutes of homework → Industry, customers, current challenges - Be specific → What problem do you solve for them? - Make the next step easy → Clear, simple CTA. (Hint: it shouldn't always include asking for someone's time right away). I recently received an email that referenced the wrong company, wrong role, and still asked for 30 minutes. That’s not an issue with bad leads. That’s an effort problem. Most sales emails don’t fail because selling is hard. They fail because they’re lazy.

5 reasons your pitches aren't getting replies (from a Forbes and Vogue journalist)... I get about 100 pitches a week. Most of them don't get a reply. Here's exactly why and what to do instead. 1. You've sent it to the wrong person. A pitch to the editor-in-chief, or a journalist who doesn't even cover your topic, is a waste of everyone's time. Five minutes of research before you hit send changes everything. Quality over quantity, every time. 2. Your subject line is boring. "Collaboration opportunity" and "I'd love to be featured" are not subject lines. They're the fastest route to the bin. Your subject line is more important than almost anything else in that email because if it doesn't get opened, nothing else matters. 3. You've pitched yourself, not an idea. Journalists don't feature people. They feature stories. "I'm a successful founder" is not a story. "Here's what I noticed was broken in my industry, and why it matters to your readers right now" is. 4. You don't know why it matters now. Timeliness is everything in media. If your pitch could have been sent six months ago and would still make sense in six months, it doesn't have a news hook, so you need to find one. 5. You've written both too much and not enough. Three paragraphs of backstory and then one vague line about how you'd love to be featured is the most pointless waffle of all. If your pitch is over 300 words, it's too long. Get to the idea in the first two sentences. Then give the context. Fix all five and you're already ahead of about 90% of the pitches sitting in any journalist's inbox right now.

I’m starting to delete genuine emails, thinking they are Artificial Intelligence 😳!!! I’m 99% sure I’m not alone, and I’m sure a ton of us are unintentionally writing emails that are getting lost in the sea of AI noise. So let’s talk about it. (& what I’d recommend you do to make sure your emails stand out.) The number of unsolicited pitches landing in my inbox has probably 10x’d in the last 6 months. And most of them are AI-generated. The subject lines often look like: “Hey Alice, we need to talk” “Alice Draper - Opportunity” “Referred to you - establishing connection” And a gazillion other super generic subject lines. I usually hit “archive” before even looking at the email. So imagine my surprise when someone DM’d me on Instagram, asking if I’d received her email. It turns out I’d archived it because the headline was vague and generic that my brain automatically classified it as AI. Another time, I saw an email that I almost deleted but - because the name seemed vaguely familiar - I took a look. Turns out it was a personalized email from someone I’d met at a networking event. But again: Super generic subject line. As someone who writes cold emails for a living, and has trained a team to do the same, here are some rules of engagement I’d recommend in the age of AI. Situation 1: Someone you’ve met before who might not remember you. Here, don’t leave it to chance that they remember you. Point out how you know each other in the subject line. For example: “Alice from 1Billion Summit. Following up on our conversation. :)” Situation 2: The cold pitch. This email is to a stranger. There are 2 things I’d recommend focusing on. The first is to make it very clear what the purpose of the pitch is (take the guesswork out) and the second is have an attention-grabbing hook/story in the subject line. For instance, when I send podcast guest pitches for myself (pitching rejection resilience as the discussion point) this is what my subject line often looks like: “Podcast Pitch: Adam Grant rejected me?! 💃” Situation 3: The cold email Maybe you want to invite someone on your podcast, to speak at an event, or something else that is not a pitch. You want to outline this opportunity clearly and specifically, and avoid generic language like “fun opportunity” For example: “Geraldine, I’d love to interview on My Rejection Story Podcast (rated top 100)” Anything I’m missing?! I’d love you to chime in.

95% of B2B outreach gets deleted in 3 seconds. Do you know why? Everyone's pitching solutions before they understand the problem. Last month, we analyzed 200+ cold emails sent to logistics buyers. Every. Single. One. Followed the same tired formula: → "We're [Company] with [X] years experience..." → "We offer [generic service] and [another generic service]..." → "Can we schedule a call?" Here's the issue. Your buyer gets 50+ identical pitches daily. They've built pattern recognition for spam. Your message fits that pattern perfectly. The shift that changes everything: Stop selling. Start diagnosing. Your prospects aren't thinking about freight forwarders. They're dealing with real operational pain: - Unpredictable delays destroying customer relationships - Rate volatility making margin planning impossible - Communication blackholes with current providers - Customs issues creating emergency firefighting Here's what actually breaks through: ❌ WRONG: "We're a freight forwarder with competitive rates and excellent service." ✅ RIGHT: "Noticed you're scaling imports from Vietnam. Most companies at your stage hit the same wall: customs delays averaging 7-10 days that kill margins, plus rate volatility that makes customer quotes a guessing game. We've helped 4 similar importers cut clearance time 40% and lock in predictable pricing. Worth exploring?" See the difference? The anatomy of outreach that works: 1️⃣ Hyper-specific observation about their business. Not generic flattery. Real research. 2️⃣ Crystallize their problem in their language. Show you understand their world-not yours. 3️⃣ Quick proof you've solved it before. Credibility without bragging. 4️⃣ Frictionless next step. 15 minutes. Not a "demo." Real numbers from our campaigns: Generic approach: 2-3% response, 1-2 meetings/month Problem-first approach: 15-18% response, 8-12 meetings/month That's not marginal improvement. That's a completely different business. 🤯 Bottom line: You can't sell to someone who doesn't believe you understand their problem. Lead with diagnosis. Earn the right to prescribe. We've booked 100+ qualified meetings this way. Every single one started with understanding pain-not pushing product. What's the most effective cold outreach you've received? What made it stand out?

Why does so much cold outreach get ignored the moment it lands⁉️ ⠀ The message arrives. The recipient opens it. ⠀ And within the first two sentences it is clear. ⠀ This was not written for me. This was written for anyone. ⠀ The company name is mentioned. The credentials are listed. The offer is made before any relationship exists. ⠀ And the message gets deleted. ⠀ Not because outreach does not work. But because outreach that starts with the sender instead of the recipient never had a chance. ⠀ The best cold outreach shows that real research was done on the person receiving it. ⠀ It leads with a specific observation that is relevant to them right now. ⠀ It makes a small ask instead of a big pitch. ⠀ And it ends with a clear and easy next step. ⠀ People respond to people who see them. Not to templates that could have been sent to a thousand others. ⠀ The takeaway is simple: outreach that starts with the recipient converts. Outreach that starts with the sender gets deleted. ⠀ What does the first line of your outreach message say right now⁉️

I just deleted 147 cold emails without reading them. Here’s what they all got wrong: Every morning, my inbox looks the same. A flood of pitches from people trying to sell me something. Most days, I just mass delete them. But this morning, I decided to actually read through them first. Within 5 minutes, I spotted a pattern. Everyone was making the exact same mistake. They were all trying to close the deal. ALL IN THE FIRST MESSAGE 🥵 Let me show you what I mean (with two small examples): APPROACH A: "The Wall of Text" Send 100 cold emails with full pitch, calendar link, and case studies. • 3 people open • 0 responses • 0 intros This looks exactly like the 147 emails I just deleted "Hi [Name], I noticed your company is scaling fast! We help companies like yours optimize their marketing stack through our proprietary AI technology. Our clients see 300% ROI within 90 days. Here's my Calendly link to book a 15-min chat: [LINK]. Looking forward to connecting! Best, [Name]" BORING!!! APPROACH B: "Micro Conversations" Same 100 prospects, broken down into micro-convo's. Email 1: "Do you know [mutual connection]?" • Send 100 • ~40 open • ~20 respond Email 2: "They mentioned you're scaling your marketing team. I'd love to connect about [specific thing]." • Send to 20 who responded • ~15 continue engaging Email 3: "Would you mind if they made an intro?" • Ask 15 engaged prospects • ~10 intros Final score: • Approach A: No intros • Approach B: 10 intros How to Apply These Lessons (Tactical Summary): 1. Focus on Micro-Conversations: Break your cold outreach into smaller, manageable steps. Build rapport before making any asks. 2. Personalize Everything: Reference mutual connections, specific company milestones, or shared interests in every message. 3. Play the Long Game: Aim for replies in the first message.. not conversions. If you’ve been struggling with cold outreach, you might just need a new approach. Give this one a try and lmk how it goes.

"RESPONSE REQUIRED". When that subject line hit my inbox this month, I paid attention... because I expected a lawyer threatening me or an angry boss. Instead, it was a movie studio offering an interview with someone I've never heard of, for a film I'd never cover. I opened it, but then felt super unfulfilled. Utilising dirty tricks like that won't make me engage, it will just make me think you're a bastard. No individual email is owed a response, whether it's a journalist or a PR sending it. Just as with the last two months, I just conducted a forensic Python audit of my Gmail archives from January 14 to February 13, parsing 5,324 emails to put together my February 2026 report. The AI swamp is becoming a major problem, and basic errors are costing you coverage. Here’s what the data told me about the PR pitches I received: Stop being boring: Too many people rely on dull subject lines like "Pitch" or "Press release". The average subject line is 73.2 characters, which is just too long. The 'Dear Journalist' filter: 5.5% of pitches used generic greetings like "Hi there" or "Hello". It shows you don't care who I am, and it gets immediately filtered as spam. The News Wire format: 15.4% of pitches slapped 'FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE' at the top. This just tells journalists you are blasting the same email to hundreds of inboxes. The "Byline" trap: Broad offers of "bylines" from people who aren't necessarily experts get skimmed over (that's before we get to the point that "byline" doesn't mean what you think it does. A declarative statement without a clear newsline doesn't work. Right now, only 26.3% of PR emails I get are ever opened, and even fewer get a reply. If you want to cut through the morass, you don't need to work harder - you need to work differently. The full report is below, but that's just the start of what I can do to help. Want to stop guessing? Let's fix your strategy. I have a small handful of spaces left for my next Pitch Perfect workshop at King's Cross on 30th March. We’ll audit your real pitches live , fix the first word problem I keep seeing in your subject lines , and teach you how to turn hype into actual news. Read the full report below, and email stokel@gmail.com or fill out the form at https://lnkd.in/dDbt4563 to grab one of the last workshop spots. #publicrelations #mediarelations #journalism #PRtips #pitchperfect